Always great to see light like this coming through Ben. I don't know if you are looking for critique, but as you tagged it beginner I will mention shooting at f18, whilst making sure of a proper diffraction sunburst, is what has caused you issues with flare spots across the lens. Personally, I would suggest a shot like this you could focus on the trees and shoot a wider aperture, probably framing slightly wider and moving the composition around slightly to minimise flare. Then crop in post.